One Man's Burden
by WarlockKingAbraxas
Summary: A darker twist on the first few years. My first story, for now its just a one-shot but I'll continue it if people want me to. Dark!Harry


_He was only one person, he could only take so much._

The Dark Lord killed both of his parents when he was a baby based off of a prophesy spouted by Sybill Trelawney, of all people. Young Harry Potter was left with no one but his ignorant, hateful aunt and uncle.

 _He was only one person, he could only take so much._

He was only eleven years old and yet he stood before a teacher possessed by the spirit of the Dark Lord. He tried to warn them but no teacher would listen as he, Ron and Hermione pleaded with them that the Stone was being targeted. They, children, had to risk their lives because of the incompetence of those around them.

 _He was only one person, he could only take so much._

They all worshipped him when they thought he had defeated the Dark Lord, yet one mention of him being able to talk to snakes and he might as well have been just as bad as that crazed maniac. He was devastated, they all hated him for something he was born with. The only person who didn't reject him was, oddly enough, Draco Malfoy. Draco almost seemed to respect him more for his 'imperfection', he even deemed it a desirable trait.

 _He was only one person, he could only take so much._

It only took him defeating Slytherin's basilisk with the help of his newfound Slytherin allies for the mindless sheep that populated Hogwarts' halls to accept him as their hero again. How ironic that the brightest young minds from Slytherin's own house would be a driving force behind his plan's downfall. It didn't take long for that year's problem to surface however as the Sirius Black dilemma reared its ugly face. After the monumentos series of unfortunate events that lead to Sirius' wrongful accusation had been unveiled, Harry was left distraught once more as Sirius was forced back into hiding. Harry would be spending yet another Summer with his aunt and uncle.

 _He was only one person, he could only take so much._

It was supposed to be his year of reprieve, it was instead yet another year of darkness. Harry was forced to compete in a tournament of life and death, the least he could ask for was the support of his friends. The lions however would hear none of it and again they showed their true colors as nothing more than simple sheep. Forced to turn to his allies within the rival house, Harry found himself at the mercy of his pre-determined enemies once more. Just as they did in the past, the Slytherins showed Harry what being there for someone truly means and so their alliance turned into a true friendship. With his new friends at his side Harry was able to not just compete but win the Triwizard Tournament by a landslide.

 _He was only one person, he could only take so much._

Draco had warned him that they would apologize. Daphnee warned him that Dumbledore would try to explain it away. Blaise warned him that the public would turn right back into the clamoring bunch of pitiful sheep that they were. Tracy warned him that Ginny would once more be fantasising about how their babies would look. Each carried a warning with them and each in turn were right. Upon his new best friend's suggestion Harry let them all believe that he had forgiven them, just like the good little puppet he now pretended to be would. Draco hadn't led him astray thus far.

 _He was only one person, he could only take so much._

Unsurprisingly, the ever incompetent headmaster sent him back to his relative's for the summer. It was almost completely unbearable and he doubted that he'd have been able to put up with it had it not been for a few saving graces. The first was his true friends, they had managed to find a way to send him mail unlike the pretenders he had the displeasure of sharing a House with. The second being that Sirius, one of the few people in his 'old' life he didn't have to feign affection for, was picking him up to rescue him from the hell that was being with his relatives.

 _He was only one person, he could only take so much._

The day Sirius was supposed to pick Harry up would always live in infamy, news of what happened devastating for everyone across wizarding Britain no matter your blood status, alignment or any other polarizing factor. Early that morning Death Eaters attacked Diagon Alley, resulting in a bloody massacre leaving hundreds dead in its wake with heavy casualties on both sides. Out of the hundreds of names that flashed across the Daily Prophet's front page several names in particular stood out to him; Annabel Davis, Bill Weasley, Lucius Malfoy, and _Sirius Black._

 _He was only one person, he could only take so much._

Sirius' funeral was held a week before school was supposed to start. The Weasleys were a mess, their stay only brief as they were still grieving the loss of one of their own. Hermione showed up with her condolences and for the first time Harry felt bad about staying mad at her. He decided that he was willing to give her one final chance at being a true friend, afterall she was in a similar spot to him when it came to the worthiness and peer pressure of childish housemates. The friends who truly mattered to him also made an appearance and for the first time Harry didn't give a damn about what other people thought. Tracy and Darco needed him now just as much as he needed them.

 _He was only one person, he could only take so much._

Harry's last vestige of hope in the Light burned away that day. He was a changed man, the scared little boy gone and replaced with a young man hardened by death and possessing a determination to lead the world in a crusade against Voldemort, Dumbledore and every other miserable excuse for a leader the Wizarding World had to offer. He decided that he had enough of people screwing up and those mistakes costing the lives of the people close to him. If no one else was willing to lead the populace from the dung they let themselves fester in then he would.

 _He was only one person, he could only take so much._


End file.
